


with the sun at our backs

by earlymorningechoes



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Aramente to Pyrah, F/F, Heart-to-Heart, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 06:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16080503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlymorningechoes/pseuds/earlymorningechoes
Summary: Pike and Keyleth talk on the way back from Pyrah, dancing around the way they feel about each other.





	with the sun at our backs

They make their way down the mountain from Pyrah, the terrain changing all at once from bare volcanic rock back into thick forest. The horses are untouched and content where they left them, bellies full of forest grass, and Vex suggests they make camp here again. Tomorrow morning can be for pushing back to Vasselheim in the morning. The others agree wholeheartedly.

Everyone’s loud and boisterous, as usual - and expected, after surviving a detour to the Elemental Plane of Fire - and Pike sits at the fire, enjoying the camaraderie and companionship she’s so missed. But something niggles at her, as she watches Vax reenact Percy’s gun misfire, and she looks around the group amidst the laughter. Realizing Keyleth isn’t sitting with the rest, Pike steps away herself.

She finds her sitting just beyond the treeline, still close enough to respond quickly if something were to happen but tucked away. Keyleth looks up when she hears footsteps, and her cheeks color a delicate red.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Pike, I’ll be back in a minute.” Her arms are wrapped around her knees, and even hunched over she’s so gangly that she’s nearly the same height as Pike at her tallest. The sight makes Pike smile, shaking her head.

“No no, you take all the time you need. I just wanted to check in on you, especially since I haven’t been around much at all recently.” She turns to go, but Keyleth calls her back, as she’d hoped she would.

“Some company might be nice. I’ve been a little...adrift.” She shrugs, a familiar movement of her sharp shoulders, and Pike drops to the ground next to her with an also-familiar heavy  _ clunk _ from her armor. The lively conversation from the fireside filters back to them through the trees, all laughter and chatter and the occasional low growl from Trinket. Pike listens and waits. She wants to ask about everything, about Vasselheim and this Kashaw fellow and Pyrah and Keyleth’s mother. Or, well, she doesn’t want to ask about Kashaw, but she’s not letting herself think about how his existence makes her feel. Despite the swirl of thoughts, the companionable silence is comforting, and she’s content to let Keyleth speak when she’s ready.

“How’s the temple coming along?” is what she asks, some time later.

Not expecting that question, Pike has to redirect her brain to answer. “Well, there’s the curse, right now.” Keyleth shudders, her nose wrinkling in disgust. “Which, presumably, will be gone by the time we return to Vasselheim. And then I’ll go back, keep digging out what we can, rebuilding when we can.”

“Do you have to go back?” As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Keyleth’s mouth snaps shut with an audible click, and her eyes squeeze closed. “I didn’t mean that.”

The air’s cooled off considerably, but it feels warm again when Pike reaches out to put a hand over Keyleth’s. She’s still smiling, but it’s tinged with sadness now. “It’s all right. I wouldn’t want to, but…” Trailing off, she looks up into the tree canopy and the stars pricking through it. “It feels like it’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Nodding, Keyleth sighs. “Where Sarenrae wants you to be.” It’s not a question. Her hair falls across her face, and it’s momentarily so distracting that Pike almost misses the next words. “I understand. Or, well, I don’t, but I understand that it’s important to -”

A squirrel bursts out of the trees in front of them, cutting off the end of her words. Pike’s sad smile startles into a laugh, and Keyleth’s many layers of melancholy lift just slightly. The squirrel stands still, almost as if it’s considering them, before disappearing back into the dark forest.

Her thoughts scattered by the sudden interruption, Pike looks down at where her hand is still resting over Keyleth’s, a new thought rising to the forefront. She flips Keyleth’s hand over and laces their fingers together, squeezing gently when Keyleth doesn’t pull away. “I do think I’m right, that it’s where Sarenrae wants me to be. But I’m glad I could be here, with you, for something so big.” And there’s so much more that she could say;  _ so big _ is too small of a phrase to encompass how much it means to her that she could be there on Keyleth’s Aramente. But part of it’s definitely that she is there, and this Kashaw is not. She doesn’t want to be jealous of this man she doesn’t know, but she’s the one sitting here holding hands with Keyleth as the last of the sun’s light disappears, and a thrill of triumph wends through her.

More laughter erupts from their friends at the fireside, and Keyleth’s eyes flick towards the sound. No one else has come to look for them, and she can’t decide if she’s grateful or annoyed. But she looks down at her left hand, tangled together with Pike’s right, who squeezes again when she notices Keyleth looking. Something warm starts to build in her chest.

She’s anxious and overwhelmed, as always, and of course more so after another test and not enough news of her mother and an extraplanar trip. But the weight of Pike’s hand in hers is safe and grounding, in a way she wasn’t expecting, and she squeezes back. Unexpectedly she thinks of Kashaw, and realizes the feeling in her chest is a lot like the tingly feeling after that split-second kiss. Her cheeks grow hot again, and she takes a deep breath.

“It meant a lot, for you to be here. For all of you, but…” She turns to face Pike, cradling their joined hands in her lap. “I’m glad you were able to come.”

This time, there’s no sadness tempering Pike’s smile, and Keyleth finds herself smiling back. 


End file.
